Stolen
by Alastair
Summary: AU - If, as a child, Luffy went missing after Sabo's death.
1. Spark in the Waves

_Stolen_

Spark in the Waves

XXX

The hooded man looked up at him, gazing across the table at the decorated Marine, and his lips began to scowl, "What do you mean by 'missing'?"

His father, the Marine, finished crunching through his rice crackers, "Just what I said. Been missing almost half the year now. I stopped by oh, two months ago to check on him. As far as they can tell, he just went and walked right off the island. He tracked him down to the shore, and he couldn't track him anywhere else. Kid must've searched days ... He ate a Devil Fruit, you know." He ate another cracker, "He could've drowned, I guess, but even that brat isn't so stupid as to just walk into the ocean."

Raising a brow, he asked, "Do you think he found a boat then? Or some slavers found him?"

His father grimaced, and stared through him as if disturbed, "I'd know if it were slavers. Been keeping my eye on the black market since."

"So he boarded a ship," He mused, scratching his chin. The boy was only nine years old, and was in no way ready for a life at sea, but even so, he felt some relief. After all of his father's talk of turning his son into a Marine, it seemed that he had found his own freedom.

With a grumble, his father said, "He's probably just been turned into a cabin boy. That's what he'd get for stowing away on a ship, and it'd serve him right! Teach him discipline and proper manners." He shoved more rice crackers into his mouth to crunch away. It was clear to anyone that bothered to look that he was furious.

Not that many would look at a Vice-Admiral talking to a hooded man in a seedy bar on the outskirts of town. It was almost too easy for the two of them to meet up like this. A lawless countryside in the West Blue surrounded by an icy desert was one of their spots.

Away from the rest of a watching world.

He grinned, and Garp the Fist asked, "And what's gotten into you?"

"Son of a dangerous revolutionary, and grandson of a Vice-Admiral." Dragon chuckled deep in his throat, "The world doesn't even know he's gone."

XXX

Nami stared down at the boy in the barrel. It was just tall enough that she had to get on the tips of her toes to look inside. The boy had messy black hair with a scar under his left eye, and he just snored away. She considered her options before stepping back. Taking ahold of the barrel's lid, Nami yanked, and toppled it over. The barrel thudded with a sound like booming thunder, and rolled across the deck of the little ship. From inside, the boy gave out a surprised yelp, and then began to scream.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!"

When the barrel did, at last, come to a halt, the boy staggered out, holding his stomach.

Nami put her hands on her hips, and said, "Serves you right, stowaway!"

"Stowawhat?" His stare at her was incomprehensive, and a sickly green.

"You're a stowaway! You snuck onto my ship for a free ride," she tried to stand a little taller. He looked younger, but some boys didn't let that get in the way of trying to act tough. Nami would have to stomp any of that in the bud, "You owe me!"

He scratched his head. His stomach no longer appeared to be bothering him, but he rubbed his belly, "No, I didn't. I was commanding ... commemoraborating ... counteracting it!"

Nami sniffed, and said, "Commandeering, stupid."

He grinned, "Yeah, that!"

"You can't steal my ship," she crossed her arms, puffing out her chest super-importantly. "I'm the great thief, Nami! I steal from pirates!"

"Well, I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" As she gaped at him, his smile grew all the wider, and prouder. He held his hand out to her, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy. Nice to meet ya."

"I hate pirates!" She grabbed a spare oar, and swung it at him, "They took Bellemére away!"

Catching the oar in mid-swing, he paled due to how close it was to striking him, "Oi, quit it!" The boy yanked the oar out of her hands, and tossed it aside.

Nami backed up, and she glanced around for another weapon, starting to worry.

The boy turned away then, pulling himself up onto the railing before he gasped out, "Aah! Where's the beach!?"

With a deep frown, Nami opted to hide behind another barrel instead, "I stole from some pirates, and ran!"

"Well then, go back!"

"I can't go back, stupid stowaway pirate, they'll kill me! Just swim back already." Never mind that there was no land in sight, and that she had been sailing for hours now; she hoped that perhaps the stupid pirate would try just that.

With a sudden whine, and sniffle, the boy cried, "But - but I can't swim! I'll drown!"

Incredulous, Nami looked around her barrel to gape at him, "What kind of pirate can't swim, stupid!?"

He sniffed some snot back into his nose, "I gots a Devil Fruit power."

Even as her nose twisted in disgust, Nami climbed out from behind the barrel, "Stupid pirate boy, Devil Fruits don't exist. Stop playing pretend, and learn how to swim on your way back!"

"But then ..." he yanked on his cheek then, and it extended as far as his arm stretched out to the side, "ho' cab I 'o 'is?"

She screamed.

XXX

Nami stopped off at an island, frowning at him, "You can get off here."

"Is this my island?"

"No, but there's a port here. Maybe someone will give you a ride back."

His little puffed out chest fell, "But you're the one that knows where it is!"

Nami stared at him with some consternation, "Just tell them what island you're from." When he just continued to stare right back at her, she said, "Show where it is on a map."

"Uh ... I can't read maps. How'm I s'posed to show 'em?"

She must have been gawking at him for longer than she had thought because then he waved his hand slowly in front of her face. Snapping out of her trance, Nami shook her head, "How do you not know where you're from!?"

"Oh, that's Fuusha Village."

She couldn't recall such a place near Gray Terminal - just how had he wandered so far from home then? "Yeah, sure, but ... what island? Do you know what country that's in?"

He shrugged.

She screamed, "You're the stupidest pirate I've ever met!"

"Yeah, well! You're -! Uh ... a thief!"

Continuing on right over his feeble insults, she said, "You can't swim, don't know where you're from or where you're going! You're ridiculous!"

The boy first sniffed, and then began to sniffle, snot and drool starting to go down his face. He managed to mumble out, "Don't - don't you know ...? I - I wanna go home! With Ace 'n Da - Dadan, and the stupid ... stupid mountain bandits!"

"Are you done at pretending to be a pirate now?" She asked, feeling herself start to cave.

Just as quickly as she had said it, his lower lip stiffened up, and he stamped his foot, "No way! I'm not pretending 'cause I'm gonna be the real Pirate King. I'll show you!"

Instantly, she felt the rage again, "You don't even know the first thing about sailing, I bet! You couldn't get back home even if I gave you everything you needed. You're just a dumb pirate kid! Stupid!"

"Well, you're just a kid too!" He blinked then, and seemed to assess what he had just said. "You can do all those things! Are you a pirate?"

"No, I steal from pirates, stupid," Nami touched her shoulder, scowling at him.

"If you're just a kid ... then I could learn it all too."

Nami snorted, "You're too stupid."

"Am not!"

"Who's gonna teach a stupid head like you to be a pirate anyway?" She smirked, and crossed her arms, certain that she had caught him in a hole in his plan.

He grinned, "You."

XXX

At first, she had tried everything to get him off of her boat short of drowning him. Attempting to shove him off onto the beach had only resulted in bruises for her. Apparently, he had older brothers, and they had been sufficient training in handling a young girl. So, for the meanwhile at least, Nami was stuck with the stupid pirate boy.

"You have to feed yourself," Nami huffed that afternoon.

The boy, who had been happily clinging to the mast, slid down with a thump upon landing on the deck, "Huh?"

"I only packed enough food for me. I don't have anything for you."

"Hmmm ... then I'll just fish for some!"

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Fine. Go ahead and try, stupid pirate."

"I will!"

And he did, sitting there on the railing, and Nami thought about pushing him off.

With him gone, she could continue on back to Arlong without issue. Bringing some strange boy home probably wouldn't bode well with the Fishman after all. Also, there would be one less possible pirate in the world too. That thought gave her cause to reflect however. He was just some kid, and not everyone grew up to be what they wanted to be. It was probably just a phase. She could remember before the incident; boys in Cocoyashi would play at Pirates and Marines, and they all had their preferred roles. Before the incident. Nami didn't think that they played that game any longer.

For two reasons.

If she pushed him off now, she wouldn't have to cave in later to feed him too. The way that the boy was fishing - with one line in the middle of a vast ocean without a shore in sight - he would be lucky to catch seaweed. The ocean was too large for such a means to ever feed anyone. He would starve first. Then it would be a mercy.

Nami had never killed anyone before though. Was he telling the truth about his Devil Fruit ability? She had seen him stretch, but sometimes people had really elastic skin. Had she imagined how far he had been able to stretch his cheek? Nami hadn't seen him stretch since. Would he really simply drown if she shoved him over the rail? Would Bellemére forgive her if she did?

"Will you cook the fish for me when I catch one?"

She scowled, "You won't, and no."

"Why not?"

"I don't even want you here! And even if you ever do catch something, why should I help you stay longer?"

His cheeks puffed up petulantly, "Fine then, I'll do it myself!"

Miraculously, he caught some kind of flat fish. And, also miraculously, Nami put the fire out in time, and she didn't kill him.

XXX

He somehow stuck around. Nami couldn't get rid of him; try as she might to get him to come off of the ship with her, Luffy refused. Even more vexing, she couldn't find another ship to steal so she could just leave him stranded. They were either too heavily guarded or even too large of a vessel for her to consider manning alone. Nami also had too much treasure accumulated already for her to even think of abandoning it.

However, time was passing by quickly. She would have to return to Arlong soon with new information. New sea charts.

Her wrist was beginning to ache as she was walking back to the tiny inlet where she had hidden the ship. She pouted when she saw the remains of a campfire on the beach, but disregarded it. Even should she have caught him off of the ship, Nami didn't think she would be able to depart without him jumping on board again.

A she climbed onto the deck, Nami frowned as she realized that she couldn't hear him. Usually Luffy was loud in everything that he did - she had even kicked him out of the cabin during the night because of his weird habit of arguing with her in his sleep. She did a quick glance around to be sure he wasn't about before she looked carefully into the small cabin - wary of any falseness.

When she heard the little sniffles, she stopped crouching around, and looked under the table.

"Only babies cry," said Nami.

He frowned at her through red eyes, "I'm not a baby. I bet dumb thief-girls cry too."

"Well, I don't cry," she insisted. "I'm never going to cry again."

After a moment, he wiped his cheeks, "Then ... I won't cry again either!"

Nami looked down at her toes ,and picked a tiny rock out of her sandals. She scoffed, "It doesn't work like that, stupid pirate."

"You just decided, I can too."

She frowned, but didn't respond.

"Nami ..."

She looked at him then, and he looked as if he might begin crying, "What?"

"I miss Ace."

Something made her eyes moisten, but she blinked it away, "So go home already. I'm busy enough without you in my way."

"And what busy little bees you've been."

Nami spun around too late. A huge hand clamped onto her shoulder, and shoved her against the door frame, causing her to scream in surprise and pain.

The man's breath stunk as he leaned in to sneer at her, "Lucky me. I got to see you skipping out of town before you disappeared. Remember me? Stole some goods off me a little while ago."

Nami screamed and tried to kick for his balls, but he was holding her up too high. He was too tall.

Then he was screaming as well, and Nami fell to the floor, only to blink at the sight of Luffy chomping onto his ankle. Scurrying to the side, Nami grabbed the fire extinguisher, and crushed it into the man's unprotected crotch. As he curled over in pain, Luffy leapt up to punch him in the face, making him howl. Nami grabbed the boy's hand, and pulled him out of the cabin. The man growled, and stumbled after them.

Nami tried to pull him to the railing first, "Come on! We can hide in the woods!"

His hand was gone suddenly, and she turned around. He had stopped to pick up one of the oars, and was facing down the man.

"Don't!" The panic escalated in Nami then, and she began to breathe rapidly. In her mind's eye, Bellemére was standing there. "Don't protect me! Don't save me!"

When he turned to look at her strangely, the man smacked him aside, and lunged at her, "Damn bitch!"

She cried out in pain, but she tried to clam up. There was no way that she would allow even the dumb pirate boy to die, and to convince him to do nothing, she just ... had to stop screaming.

And yet, it was so difficult when the man lifted her up by the throat to shout into her face, "That's right, girl, no one'd save a little bitch like you."

She chanted, too terrified to stop, "Don't save me! Don't save me! Don't save-"

Nami was dropped, and as she looked up in a daze, Luffy was standing over the collapsed man with a broken oar replacing the oar he had before. He fumed at her, "Don't you ever say that again!"

She gaped, and glanced down at the unmoving man, "I ... we should ... toss him off. Quick, help me get him over."

The man at least groaned in pain as they managed to haul him up and over the railing. When she chanced a look back at the inlet as they sailed away, Nami thought she saw a dark shadow on the beach that was shaking his fist after them.

It was as she began to relax after changing their course - so he couldn't give chase - that she realized how sullen and reticent Luffy had become. Before she could speak, he rounded on her, "Don't say that stuff ever again!"

The past ten minutes felt like a day's long struggle, and Nami snapped with anger, "You could've been killed! I'll say it a million time and more if I want to!"

"No."

She blinked at that and stared before she snorted, "Do you think I'm some weak little girl that need to be protected? Huh?"

"No, you're my friend, and I like you, and ..." Nami's eyes widened, too stunned as he went on, "Last time that I did nothing, I lost ... my big brother. He didn't even say nothing, and we let 'im walk away ... I won't let it happen again. I won't."

Once more, she saw Bellemére with a gun to her face, and smiling, _**'I love you ...'**_

One one tiny moment, she didn't feel any horror from the memory - just a sudden rush of protective feelings, and warmth. It didn't go away when she stepped closer to take his hand.

For a while, she didn't know what to say. However, as she looked up, and met with his eyes, Nami said, "Thank you, Luffy."

Taking a deep breath then, she leaned forward, with her eyes tightly squeezed shut, and kissed him. Nami waited for the initial, usual boy's reaction. When she heard not an 'ew', she peeked out at him, surprised to find a grin.

"No problem," he tilted his head to the side, "but what was that for?"

She felt her cheeks warm again, though she was glad that he wasn't grossed out by it. Nami said, "I was thanking you for ... well, uh ... since you're going to be a king, that means you're a prince right now."

He just laughed.

XXX

Nami and Luffy reasoned out a plan. With the trust he had earned that night, Nami realized that an extra hand on the ship meant her treasure was better protected when she was away. Especially since he was wildly uninterested in it.

Luffy could stay with her while she was out at sea, but for the times that she needed to return to Arlong, she could drop him off on some island - even an island without people was fine with him so long as food and fresh water could be found. After her work was done, she could then pick him up when she went travelling again.

For the first year or so, it worked splendidly.

And then Nami began to bleed.

XXX


	2. The Scent of Blood

_Stolen_

The Scent of Blood

XXX

Luffy frowned at the sign Nami had shown to him, tilting his head before looking at her, "We're gonna _scam_ pirates now?"

"It's the same thing as stealing from them."

His frown became deeper in confusion, and he turned the sign around to show it to her, "How do we do that when we're telling them that we're gonna steal?"

The sign read, "CAUTION! Thieves in operation here!"

She huffed, and took it to hang the sign up. They were by the docks, and the sun had yet to rise. Soon, the docks would be busy with fishermen from the town, and pirates and merchants that had slept in their ship for the night.

Luffy just squinted his eyes, crossing his arms, "There's no pirates here yet. Are you gonna start stealing from townsfolk too?"

"No, I just don't want anyone to see us hang it up. Besides, now I can show you how it works with other people." Taking his hand, Nami dragged him into an abandoned warehouse across from the sign so they could watch the streets. "Just watch."

As they waited in the dark, Nami hopped a little on her toes. His eyes were on her when she glanced at him.

She pouted, "Watch for people, okay?"

"Yeah, but you're not going to steal from them, so ... why?"

"I'm showing you how it works. Pay attention."

"Hmmn ..." he pursed his lips, and crooked his head to the side as he looked at her with an oddly blank expression.

Nami rolled her eyes, "Just watch, okay?"

"Uh, but ..."

"Sh! Someone's coming!" She proceeded to shush him, and Nami looked out the window, feeling Luffy move beside her to do the same. The man going down the street seemed to slow down as he noticed and read the sign. After the light of understanding crossed his eyes, he frowned as he touched the front pocket of his shirt. Radiating with smiles, Nami turned back to Luffy when the man was far enough away, "Did you see?"

"I saw a guy who's going to avoid the docks now."

"Not that. He showed us where his cash is." When Luffy's stare slowly became devoid of comprehension, she sighed, "He patted his pocket. That's where it is."

"Oh ... huh, that's kind of neat." He grinned broadly at her until he suddenly seemed to think of something, "They're still getting a warning though, aren't they?"

Nami smiled wickedly then, "That's why we hit them when they're drunk."

XXX

Luffy was hanging back in an alleyway to keep an eye out for her later that night. The two had been watching the docks all morning when the majority of the pirates had left their ships, and Nami had spotted several possible-wallets. This seemed to be a great opportunity to make a lot of money in one fell swoop that night.

While she fidgeted by the street, Nami winced slightly, and pressed her hands against her abdomen briefly. During the day, Nami had napped so she could steal for as long a time as possible, but even with that, she already felt exhausted. The stomachache wasn't helping matters. She wasn't sure what she could have eaten to make her intestines feel like they were knotting up either. However, the pirates weren't going to wait for her to get better, so she had to strike before they left.

Besides that, she and Luffy were all set to go. Not only was Luffy a watch out, he was also a distraction. Nami had told Luffy to tear his clothes a bit so that he looked like the type that would dart out to pick pockets. On the other hand, Nami was dressed like a young socialite - not at all the type to traipse in other people's wallets.

Simply being under the weather wouldn't stop her.

A group of pirates that she recognized from the docks were soon exiting a bar. She took a deep breath to quell her nervous stomach. She figured - as she started to walk towards the pirates in a small crowd - that the feeling was just nervousness.

Nami quietly slipped hands into pockets and jackets, putting cash and wallets under her skirt in a lined pocket. She was just about through when she accidentally bumped into one of them.

He snagged her arm tightly, and she winced in pain, "Hey!"

"Oi, oi, little missy, you gotta be careful!"

She pulled her arm away, and backed up, "I'm - I'm sorry! Excuse me!" Turning, she started jogging away as she slipped his wallet into her skirt. She realized then that she was feeling fainter, and was soon out of breath.

"Get back here, girl! I ain't done-!"

There was the sound of a sharp crack then, and she spun around to see that Luffy was facing them down. She hissed in annoyance. Sometimes, he just didn't know when or how he was supposed to cut in. Or most times.

"Damn bastard! What the hell are you doing!?"

"Robbing you," Luffy grinned before running off.

The pirates looked at each other with wide eyes before they hurriedly dug into their pockets for the money that wasn't there. They all started to give chase after Luffy upon the discovery of their missing cash, and Nami hastily went her own way. She knew that Luffy could escape easily with his rubber abilities, so all she had to do was rendezvous with him.

Clutching at her stomach, Nami panted as she reached the abandoned warehouse. She closed the door up before pressing against the wall nearby, and she slid down, forming into a ball on the floor. Nami squeezed out tears of pain as she bit her lip hard to keep silent.

When Luffy finally reached the warehouse, he had a black eye, but otherwise appeared fine. Crouching down to her level, Luffy frowned gently, and whispered, "Nami ...?"

"I'm not crying!" She sobbed, her arms tightening around herself, "I just ... hurt!"

"Eh? Uh, right, right, Nami. You're hurt? I thought I got them all. Where'd they get you!?" Suddenly, he stood up straight, and scowled, "I'll kick their asses twice over!"

"No ... they didn't ... please, stay here, Luffy." If he left, she would just be sitting there in pain again - alone.

Luffy pouted, but kneeled down to look over her curiously, "What hurts then, Nami?"

"My stomach. Down here ..." she touched her lower abdomen, cringing.

He reached down then, putting his hand there, and she felt a little respite from his hand. Nami gradually relaxed.

"Uh, Nami, you okay?"

She nodded slowly after taking a deep breath, "That just feels good there ..."

"Oh, okay ... but I smell blood."

Nami blinked, looking up at him in shock, and wondering if perhaps the pirates had followed Luffy to the hideaway. She sat up with a wince, "Did they find us?"

"No." He sniffed at her, leaning in close to her. Nami flushed red, and leaned back as much as she could even with her back against the wall already. Her breaths became shorter as his black eyes met with her light brown ones, "Are you sure you're okay? You smell bloody."

And her eyes suddenly widened in understanding. It was her first period, and Luffy could _smell_ it.

Nami shoved her hand into his face to shove him away with a shriek, "Don't sniff me!"

"Ow! Nami, that hurt!"

"I - I think I know what it is now, so ... so go away!"

Luffy pouted a bit piteously at her, and said as he rubbed his nose, "Yeah, I see it now. You're bleeding between your legs." As she darkened with the blood that hadn't left her yet, Luffy took his shirt off to hand it to her, "Here, use this."

Taking it quickly, Nami shakily rose to her feet, and hurried to get behind some rotten stacks of wood, "I - I'm going to need something smaller than this after I clean up."

"Let's go back to the ship then."

She said with her voice trembling, "Right, we can count the money there. Where are those pirates anyway?"

She could hear the happiness in his voice as he laughed then, "I got 'em this time, Nami."

"Got them?" She paused in wiping herself down before scrubbing a little harder, "Luffy, I told you to stop trying to beat grown men!"

"Yeah, but I did it this time. I told you I'd get stronger."

Sighing as she finished up, Nami said, "Fine then, but they're not gonna get up, are they?"

"Well, I don't think I killed 'em," he said musingly, "but they'll probably stay down for a while."

"I guess that's a good thing. You're not a pirate yet," she muttered, straightening her skirt before tossing aside the shirt. Too many questions would be asked if someone saw the blood. She came around to take his hand, and headed for the door.

"I wouldn't kill anybody, Nami," Luffy cocked his head, glancing at her with a slight frown.

"Not now, you wouldn't." She sighed before she leaned over to kiss his cheek, "Just stay as you are."

Luffy blinked, and skipped a step, touching his cheek before he frowned a bit deeper. "How can I be anyone else?"

Biting, her lip, she glanced at him before she just shook her head.

After a long silence, as they boarded the ship, Luffy asked, "Where's all the blood coming from anyway?"

She couldn't conceive of how red her face was at that moment, and said with a stutter, "It's just - girls start to ... I'm a woman now, okay?"

"Uh ... okay?" He pouted slightly, following her into the cabin.

Their current ship was a bit larger than the first one that they had met on, and it had a full kitchen with two separate sleeping quarters. Nami had insisted on that point for all subsequent ships. When she went into her room, Luffy tried to follow, however, and she scowled slightly.

"I need to clean up more, Luffy. Go away."

"Yeah, but ... I still don't get it." His frown deepened, and his brows began to pinch together, "You're really not hurt though, right?"

Shifting from foot to foot, Nami looked away from him slightly, "It's just ... something that happens. It - it hurts, but it's normal ... really, Luffy."

"How is bleeding normal? If it hurts, let's wrap it up, okay?" Luffy looked around in the kitchen behind him then before handing her a wash cloth. He said, "Use this to keep the bleeding stopped, okay? I'll go get the first aid kit."

At this point, Nami was burning with embarrassment, "It's not an injury, Luffy! I can take care of it myself!"

He wilted slightly, his eyebrows furrowing deeper as he seemed to search for a counter-argument. Finally, he said, "I can take care of you too."

Nami blinked rapidly, and opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything for a while.

Luffy took that time to step into her room, "Where'd you get cut?"

Shaking her head, she said, "It's not a cut, Luffy. I'm ..." she stopped, hugging herself , but trying to make it look like she had folded her arms like she sometimes did when she was angry with him. "It's none of your concern!"

"But ... what is it?" His eyes widened then, and he blurted out, "Is it a bite?"

"Why would it be a bite!?"

"Well, Shanks told me about guys that eat girls."

It then dawned on her that he obviously had no inkling about her predicament. Half of her had thought he could have been teasing her, but the truth was that he was clueless. No one had taught him about it. And no one would unless she did something about it.

She opened her mouth, and once more, she couldn't speak, though she thought that she squeaked slightly.

"Huh? Are you okay?"

Clearing her throat, she tried again, "Luffy, I'm ... a woman now, okay?"

His head tilted slowly, just staring at her, "Okay ..."

"That means that every month ... I'm going to bleed like this ... from now on."

He scrunched his face up, "But ... that's weird."

"It's - it's normal, really! Just ... Luffy, just trust me," she said, clutching his hands then.

"I do trust you," he said, and he appeared to relax. "I just don't get it."

Nami cringed, but she took a deep breath before she said in a rush, "It means I can have a baby now."

"Oh ..." his head tilted to the other side, humming in thought before he said, "You're not gonna have one now, are you?"

The color finally began to leave her cheeks slowly, "No, no, it's ... that means that I missed a chance to have one." She said then, "You know how chickens lay eggs, but there's no baby chick inside?"

He frowned slightly, but nodded.

"Well, it's kind of like that. Women don't ... we don't have a hard shell for eggs, so ... it's kind of ..."

Suddenly he smiled in understanding, and she started to have hope, "Oh! So that's what they're eating!"

Nami punched him.

XXX

A woman with ginger colored hair worked around them, clearing tables with loud clangs. Dragon drank from his mug, and raised a brow at his father, "No luck?"

The old Marine scowled, "Just rumors. Some reports say they've seen a boy traveling with a young girl. Others say they've found a boy on several islands, but that the boy refuses rescue, and when Marines finally arrive, the boy is nowhere to be found. Always a different island in the East Blue."

"That sounds promising though."

With a grimace, Garp said, "The reports are slowing down."

"It has been a few years now. He's nearly a teenager ..." Dragon mused as he idly searched the tavern with his eyes for anyone other than the waitress. When he saw no one new - the pub would be closing soon - he said, "I want to know that he's alive. We may have to release something to the public." He corrected himself with a grin, "Or rather, you would have to."

Garp grunted before he laughed, "Well, the boy looked like us as sprats. Some embarrassment is worth finding out if he's alive at least. I have some old photos of you. I may have to dig deep for any photos of me."

With a shrug, Dragon said, "If that's what it takes." His eyes narrowed after a moment, "I burned the birthday picture."

"Don't worry. I have the negatives," the Marine chuckled.

He scowled, but then shook his head, "We'll have to start meeting somewhere else from now on."

"Oh? Moving the base, are we?" When Dragon looked about to storm away, Garp said, "Don't worry. Intelligence is only aware of some activity ... ah, I shouldn't've said that. Forget I said anything."

Rolling his eyes, he stood anyway, "I'll send you an Eternal Pose."

He quirked his brow at that, smirking as he rose as well, "I see. Well, I'll be seeing you again then."

"I want my son found," Dragon said suddenly.

Garp frowned as he studied his own son - how had he grown so quickly? He tried to remember his grandson's face, and it came to him after a moment. The biggest smile he had ever seen - might never see again - was on his face. Garp's own face as a child did appear to be a close match, but he wasn't sure what pictures he had of himself. From what he remembered about his son's face as a boy, however, was that he had a longer face. His son hadn't really smiled often either. Dragon had not truly smiled in what seemed like decades. His son's grin was impossible for Garp to dredge up.

The more he dwelled on the subject, he wasn't so sure how well their likenesses would help locate Luffy.

XXX


	3. Things Left Unsaid

Stolen

Things Left Unsaid

XXX

Nami pinched Luffy's nose, yanking on it slightly to make him come closer. She said, "And then?"

He said with a nasally voice, "I'll order food."

"You'll order one dish! One! I'll feed you later, but for now. For tonight. One. Dish."

Luffy wilted, "But, Abi, I' hugwy!"

Glowering, she said lowly, "Order more than one dish and I'll ..."

When she said nothing more, Luffy started to sweat, and he broke away from her pinching fingers, "One dish! One! I got it!"

Sighing, she said as she put her hands on her hips, "Order one dish, and just keep an eye out for me."

"Right," he pouted as he rubbed his nose.

"You nearly cost us a fortune last time. I can't have you spending the money as soon as we get it, Luffy," she crossed her arms, frowning at him.

He winced, looking away, "Right ..." He didn't bother asking where the money was going. The first and last time he had asked, she had given him the cold shoulder for weeks. That just made him curiouser, but he didn't like it when Nami was upset with him, so he hadn't tried again.

He had finally figured that she was probably using it for something. Either saving it up, or using it. Somehow. Luffy couldn't think of anything she could need it.

Luffy really was hungry though. He sighed as he started to follow her, but then caught himself. Nami was going to enter first. He wasn't supposed to enter with her. As he watched her go, his eyes caught the swinging hem of her short skirt. It was lined with bright blue circles, and her blouse was even shorter than last night's. It showed the barest start of her blooming hips - before they seemed to go nearly horizontal before dropping again.

Shifting a bit, he rolled his shoulders, and counted to ten slowly before he followed her to the bar.

Most bartenders didn't mind selling ale to them - sometimes, they couldn't tell what age they were - but Nami had told him never to drink while on the job. She had said that he got 'too silly' when he drank. Whatever that meant. He ordered a hot chocolate when he found a table that let him watch Nami flirt with other pirates.

Nami smiled, and drank what they ordered for her. She leaned in close to one, and he saw her hand slip into a pocket for the briefest moment. Nami laughed, and leaned over slightly to show her cleavage. Her fingers were deftly folding cash into the pocket in her skirt. He had watched her stitch it in after last night's job. Nami had been humming, and happy. She hadn't seen his bill yet.

Some sudden loud laughter made him glance over at another table where a man and woman were having dinner. The man had obviously drank the entire bottle of cheap wine on the table, and the lady was laughing at whatever he had said.

He had never gone out with Nami to dinner.

Luffy looked over the realization, and then folded it away for later. Nami would kill him if he went over to talk to her about it.

As he sighed, Luffy looked back over at Nami in his boredom. His stomach gurgled, and he pouted at it before trying to concentrate again. The food would take a little bit of time to get to him, so he snuck a hand over to the table next to him to grab another slice of bread. He had eaten all of his already.

Nami pouted over a glass of ale at another pirate, and gently tugged at her low collar to fan herself. A pirate whispered something into her ear, and she giggled.

Luffy yawned.

The waitress finally brought his soup over, and he grinned as he dug in. It wasn't his fault that the meal had come with a choice of something yucky or soup. It was still the same dish.

"Would you like some more bread?"

He blinked, looking up at the waitress in surprise before smiling brighter, "Oh, it's free? All right!"

She laughed softly before turning to go. When Luffy looked back to Nami, she was frowning slightly at him. He winced, but didn't think he could explain to her that the soup came with the meal in hand signals.

Nami returned to her work quickly however, and he relaxed.

The waitress returned with a new basket of bread, and took the old one, so he started dipping it into the soup.

"I told you. It's him."

Luffy frowned when two men blocked off his view of Nami, and he tried to crane his neck to look around them without stretching his neck too much. One of the men came to his table however to speak to him.

"You're the missing kid, right?"

Eyes widening in shock, Luffy leaned away from him as the man shoved a newspaper into his face, "The what?"

And then, his eyes focused, and he stared at the images of two young men, and a picture of himself as a child. One was of a young man who was a little younger than the other with eyes that were a bit deeper set. His body was turned away from the camera - thankfully - while someone out of the picture had reached over to yank his swimming trunks down to his knees.

The oldest young man looked remarkably like Luffy did now, although, the man's scar reached around to his forehead in a hook-like shape. More importantly to Luffy though, was that he was wearing a Marine uniform.

Beginning to pale, he took the paper to look over it closer.

'_Father and Grandfather Photos to Find Missing Boy!'_

"Father ...?" He shook his head suddenly then, relaxing a bit before giving it to them. "Nope, not me."

"Ah? But you're a dead ringer ..."

"Haha, yeah, they do, but I don't have a dad, so it's not me."

The two men looked at each other before looking at him strangely. One said, "Uh ... right ...?"

As they wandered away in their confusion, he smiled as the waitress brought his steak dish over, "Awesome!"

XXX

Nami scowled up and down the street when she left the pub. It was late at night, and the pirates had passed out at the bar a while ago. Luffy had said he would be right back, but it was already well past midnight. She looked at the town's clock tower, and grimaced.

Well past midnight.

She glanced over when she heard something shuffle slightly, and she saw an old Marine officer putting some poster up on the bulletin board in the little town center. The lateness of the hour made her curious, and despite past run ins with the Marines, his presence made her feel safe. Thus she slowly wandered over to the bulletin to take a look at what he was putting up. After all it was good sense to stay aware of any new bounties or pirates.

Except the poster wasn't a wanted poster. She gasped softly, covering her mouth as she stared at the pictures of three different boys.

One was Luffy, but the other two young men had so much of his appearance in them, it felt frightening. Why was Luffy on a poster with young men that could have been his brothers? The headline said everything however.

'_Father and Grandfather Photos to Find Missing Boy!'_

His family was looking for him.

And she had stolen him away.

She dared a quick look at the Marine, only to recoil in shock when she realized he was looking right at her.

Something seemed familiar about him suddenly. Nami swallowed nothing, and glanced at the poster again. And there was the man's scar on the boy's face.

Nami stepped back a bit more, her nervousness creeping up, "Sorry, I just wanted to - to see what it was."

"My grandson," he sighed.

She opened, and closed her mouth, not sure what to say before just settling for the expected, "I'm sorry that he's missing ..."

She could see Luffy in his eyes as he just smiled at her, "Brat's probably still out there somewhere."

Nami was taken aback a bit by the optimism, even though she knew he was right, "How ...?"

"He's a brat," the man grinned wider, and she saw Luffy once more there. "I trained him to be a strong Marine!"

"But he-" _wants to be a pirate _"- he was so young ..."

"Yeah, that's the little brat there."

She looked at the poster, pretending to appraise the picture of Luffy, but found herself looking at the older young men. They were surprisingly ruggedly handsome in appearance, and she thought of how Luffy looked now. And she remembered how he had smiled so winningly at the waitress. She recalled how some men would say women acted like they didn't know how attractive they were, but for Luffy, it was truth. He wasn't aware of it - didn't even know how handsome he was becoming.

"He's cute," Nami whispered. "I hope you-" _find him._ She bit her lip, wanting to finish the sentence. She couldn't bring herself to say it, however. If she just brought Luffy back to him, he would have his family again, but then she wouldn't have him.

"Hm? What's wrong?" He leaned in slightly, and she looked up at him.

"I ..." she found herself fidgeting. It felt like he knew somehow. He kept watching her so closely, and she couldn't form the words. Nami didn't want to let go of Luffy though.

_I stole him fair and square,_ she thought futilely.

"Hmm? What is it, girl?"

"_Nami ..."_

Luffy's tear stricken face returned to her then. When she had found him under the table in that first ship long ago, Nami had knelt beside him. She hadn't wanted him around then, and he had been so lonely ...

"_I miss Ace."_

"Wait ... wait here," she said, holding up her hand as if to halt him like that. "I'll be right back!"

His eyes widened, and he stepped forward, but Nami was already running, "Oi, wait! What's going on!?"

As she ran down the street, Nami started looking left and right down alleyways. She had to find Luffy, but she had no idea where he had actually gone. And he could have gone anywhere.

Nami gasped as she turned the corner, and crashed into a body. When she looked up to apologize, she realized that it was Luffy. He grasped her shoulders, and grinned, "Oh, you wanna get back to the ship?"

"No, no, I was just ... Luffy, I think - I think your grandpa's here," she tugged at his shirt, attempting to get him to follow her.

Luffy, however, just paled. His eyes bulged in alarm, and he pulled away from her almost savagely. He said, "We gotta get out of here!"

Grabbing her hand, Luffy pulled her along after him, and bolted. She struggled slightly to keep up with him, and she called after him, "But - what's going on? He's here! He's just around the corner, Luffy, if you'd just-!"

"Damn it, he's that close!?" His arm abruptly stretched around her waist, and she squeaked as Luffy slung her against him. She wrapped her arms around him - knowing what was coming next - as his other arm stretched out to a roof, and they both snapped up and over the roof.

She clenched her teeth together tightly, trying not to scream, "What are you doing!?" When he landed, Luffy stretched his arm again, and sent them both flying once more. Nami growled in frustration as she clutched tighter. When they landed again, Nami attempted to pull away, "Stop this!"

"Nami, we need to sail away right now," he said, looking around the street that they were on, and Nami stared at him.

"Now? What's wrong, Luffy? I thought you might want to see ... your family," she whispered near the end.

He stopped then, looking rather surprised, and he ventured, "You were worried about me?"

"Of course, I was ... I was the one that took you out to sea."

Luffy smiled so wide then that Nami had to stare at him, "Yeah, why would I want to leave you?" Cheeks darkening, she looked away from him as he said, "We need to go though, or gramps will take me back."

She felt a little more justified in keeping him with her, however, she had one more issue, "What about Ace?"

"Ah ..." he drooped a bit, but his smile only softened, and did not simply disappear, "We promised we'd become pirates before we turn eighteen. So I'll wait until I'm seventeen. He'll just be jealous that I ended up leaving before him instead of the other way around!"

Nami sighed, shoulders sagging; she didn't know if it was relief or exasperation. She took his hand then, tugging him along to the dock, "Come on then. I don't want to lose you to him."

"Shishi! You won't, I promise."

XXX

"I hope you enjoyed that meal," Nami said as they reached the dock.

Luffy glanced at her, looking confused, "Yeah, but I wanted a whole lot more ... and that soup came with the meal, I swear!"

She raised a brow at him, wondering why he was so adamant about it, "And I bet you liked that waitress too, huh?"

He seemed even more confused, "The who ...? Oh, right, the lady that brought me food."

"It's just her job to do that, you know," Nami said, feeling irrational again. It felt like she was just reminding herself. It was just the waitress. They hadn't been flirting.

She didn't believe it was even possible for him to flirt.

When they were on the ship, and she had gone to her room, Nami tugged her skirt off before pulling on some shorts. Luffy called over to her from the kitchen, "Let's go out to dinner sometime!"

"No way, Luffy, feeding you would take up all the money I have."

"Oh ... right," he seemed to sound disappointed before he ventured, "I can just eat one dish again."

Nami frowned, coming out of her room then, "We'll be eating out at sea tonight anyway, Luffy."

Luffy smiled then, and said, "We're having a date out at sea then? All right!"

Nami gaped at him, feeling hot blood rush to her face, "What ... a date!?"

"Shishi, yeah, since we haven't gone out to dinner before."

"What - what makes you think I'm your girlfriend!?"

Luffy blinked at her, tilting his head, "You."

"Eh ...?"

"You keep kissing my cheek," Luffy said, picking his nose.

She felt her heart constrict, "I - I haven't done _that _since - since last year!"

Luffy pursed his lips, and tilted his head before he said, "Yeah, but last year was also last month ..."

"It counts!" She clutched her throat then when she realized just how high pitched that had come out. Her heart was simply beating so fast; it was difficult to think in straight lines any longer. The lines just began pointing out and leading to the same conclusion.

She could never fall in love. It felt like the moment that she did, that Arlong would know somehow. He would read her like a book, and she would lose her very best friend.

Luffy was pouting at her, bunching up his lips petulantly before he suddenly said, "But we're getting married. You should kiss my cheek more."

"In what way are we getting married!? Married couples don't just kiss each other's cheeks! You - you remember what I told you about ... about sex, right?"

He frowned, crossing his arms, "You said adults do that."

"Married couples too!" Nami huffed, feeling suddenly like she'd been running for miles. It was like this sometimes with him, and his odd, stubborn way of processing information. He would only glean the information - the ridiculous information - that interested him or helped his case.

"Then that can wait until we're married," he smiled as if he had decided everything then and there.

Eyes widening in slight outrage, Nami stood straighter, "You idiot! We're not getting married! Only people that love each other get married!"

Without missing a beat, and his confident, bright smile only becoming larger, Luffy said, "Then I'll make you fall in love with me."

She almost became angry, but then she heard it. What he hadn't said.

All that had to happen was for her to fall in love because he already loved her.

XXX

_"_why do you insist on doing this? Coming up with great scenarios for our favorite characters and just leave it, if you have an idea for this site then you have to either finish it or at the very least give some kind of author's note or some kind of update in your bio, don't just write up an idea and then leave it with your readers disappointed_"_

_No, why do **you** insist on leaving messages as if expecting some kind of answer ... AS A GUEST? I can't respond to you, so obviously you didn't want an answer in the first place. So there isn't one now. I had one. I even typed it up. It's there in the original document. I deleted it. So no reason as to why for you. If anyone actually would like to see the end of the original document, and thus know why there was a wait, go ahead and ask._

_Under a username to which I can respond._


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